Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Mary Elisabeth Dreier is held by the
President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in
other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs
or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Mary Elisabeth Dreier (also known as Mimi, Mietze, and Tolochee), social reformer,
was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 1875, the fourth of five surviving
children of Theodor Dreier and Dorothea Adelheid (Dreier) Dreier. Theodor Dreier emigrated
to the United States from Bremen, Germany, in 1849; he settled in New York City, where
he eventually became a partner in the local branch of Naylor, Benson and Co., an English
iron firm. In 1864 he returned to Germany for a visit and married a younger cousin,
Dorothea. They had five children: Margaret Dreier (1868-1945), Dorothea Adelheid (1870-1923),
Henry Edward (1872-1955), Mary, and Katherine Sophie (1877-1952).

Dreier attended George Brackett's school in Brooklyn. She took classes at the New
York School of Philanthropy but did not seek a college degree. A strong religious
background helped motivate Mary Elisabeth Dreier to undertake reform work. In 1899
she met Leonora O'Reilly, a former garment worker who was head of a local settlement
house. O'Reilly later brought both Dreier and her sister Margaret into the New York
Women's Trade Union League, a coalition of women workers and middle- and upper-class
women reformers founded in 1903 to organize working women and educate the public about
urban labor conditions.

She served as president of the New York Women's Trade Union League from 1906 to 1914
and remained active in the organization until it disbanded in 1950. She was arrested
while demonstrating during the 1909 strike of shirtwaist makers and was henceforth
a leading spokeswoman for labor reform on behalf of women workers. She was the only
woman on the New York State Factory Investigating Commission, which was appointed
after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911. Between 1911 and 1915, Mary Elisabeth
Dreier, chairman Robert F. Wagner, vice-chairman Alfred E. Smith, and six other commissioners
wrote a report that helped to modernize the state's labor laws.

The negative attitude of male trade unionists towards women workers helped turn Mary
Elisabeth Dreier into an ardent supporter of suffrage and women's rights; she chaired
the Industrial Section of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party. On the national
level Dreier often supported Progressive Party nominees, including Robert M. LaFollette
and Henry A. Wallace, although like many progressives she was an enthusiastic backer
of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.

She served on a number of government and private committees concerned with labor and
women. Later in life, however, she focused more of her attention on international
issues and American foreign policy. Between the two world wars she was a supporter
of Soviet-American friendship and an outspoken opponent of the regime in Nazi Germany;
after World War II she opposed nuclear proliferation. She was investigated by the
FBI in the 1950s.

Dreier wrote numerous poems, plays, and skits during her long life. In 1914 she wrote
Barbara Richards, a novel about working women that was never published. In 1950 she published a laudatory
biography of her sister, Margaret Dreier Robins: Her Life, Letters and Work.

Her income came from a trust fund left by her father; she was a generous supporter
of causes, the Women's Trade Union League, numerous friends, and family members. She
remained close to her brother and sisters, and to her brother's children and grandchildren,
and kept up a long correspondence with relatives in Germany. She never married, but
shared a home with fellow reformer Frances Kellor from 1905 until the latter's death
in 1952. Thereafter she lived alone, still a busy correspondent and active in favorite
causes despite increasingly frail health. She spent a good deal of time at her sister's
(Margaret Dreier Robbins) home at Chinsegut Hill outside Brooksville, Florida, and
at her summer home, Valour House, at Fernald Point in Maine. She died of a pulmonary
embolism on August 15, 1963, at her summer home at Bar Harbor, Maine, at the age of
87.

For further biographical information about Mary Elisabeth Dreier, see Notable American Women, Vol. IV. The papers of the National Women's Trade Union League are available on microfilm
at the Schlesinger Library.

Margaret Dreier Robins (September 6, 1868-February 21, 1945), also known as Gretchen
and Bimini, was the oldest of Theodor and Dorothea Dreier's five children. She began
to work for various social organizations in New York in her late teens, and in 1904
joined the New York Women's Trade Union League. The following year she married fellow
reformer Raymond Robins (1873-1954; also known as Ahochee) and moved to Chicago, where
she continued to work for the League and became its president (1907-1922). In 1924,
Margaret Dreier Robins and Raymond Robins retired to Chinsegut Hill, their 2000-acre
estate in Florida. Mary Elisabeth Dreier spent much time at Chinsegut Hill; she was
very close to both Margaret Dreier Robins and Raymond Robins. Margaret Dreier Robins
died at Chinsegut Hill of pernicious anemia and a heart ailment at the age of 76;
Dreier continued to visit the state often until 1954, when the invalided Raymond Robins
died. The Robinses had no children but for many years shared their home with Lisa
von Borowsky, who remained at Chinsegut Hill after the Robinses' death to care for
the estate.

The papers of Margaret Dreier Robins are at the University of Florida Library in Gainesville.
For further biographical information about Margaret Dreier Robins, see Notable American Women, Vol. I, and Margaret Dreier Robins: Her Life, Letters and Work by Mary Elisabeth Dreier (1950). The papers of Raymond Robins are at the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin at Madison.

Dorothea Adelheid Dreier (1870-1923), also known as Dodo, was the second daughter
and a painter. She studied art for several years in Europe but never gained the prominence
of her younger sister Katherine (see below). The papers of Dorothea Dreier are at
the Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian Institution and are available at the
Archives of American Art in Washington, New York, Boston, Detroit, and San Francisco.

Henry Edward Dreier (1872-1955), known as Edward, was a New York businessman. He worked
for his father's company for many years and eventually became its president. He was
also president of the Lock Stub Company. In 1901, Henry Edward Dreier married Ethel
Eyre Valentine (1874-1958), a suffragist who was later active with the League of Women
Voters and in civic affairs (her papers are the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College).
The couple had four children: Theodore, who married Barbara Loines and had three children:
Theodore (Ted V, Quintus, Eddie), Mark, and Barbara; John, who married Louisa (Isa)
Richardson and had three children: John (Jock), Susan, and Alexander; Dorothea, who
married Peter Voorhees, and had two children: Dorothea and Peter; and Nan, who married
Garrett Stearley.

Katherine Sophie Dreier (September 10, 1877-March 29, 1952), also known as Kate, was
a patron of modern art as well as an artist. She studied art in New York as a youth
and in Europe as an adult. In 1914, she helped establish the Cooperative Mural Workshop,
and in 1916 joined the newly formed, avant-garde Society of Independent Artists. She
made her most lasting contribution to modern art when she joined with Marcel Duchamp
and Man Ray to found the Société Anonyme, a "center for the study and promotion of
modern art." As an artist, Katherine Sophie Dreier was known for a predominantly abstract
style. Katherine Sophie Dreier maintained a deeply affectionate relationship with
her sister Mary, with whom she shared a life-long interest in spiritualism. The Katherine
Sophie Dreier papers are available at Beinecke Library, Yale University. Most of them
deal with the Société Anonyme. For further biographical information, see Notable American Women, Vol. IV.

The Mary Elisabeth Dreier papers arrived at the Schlesinger Library in no particular
order. Mary Elisabeth Dreier had attempted to sort them while partly blind and they
had subsequently been repacked. They have been divided into three series, each arranged
chronologically except where noted. There are some professional papers, but most of
the collection consists of correspondence with family members and friends. Most of
the papers date from the 1920s or later. Additional material (accession number 2007-M43)
was added to the collection in August 2016. This material is located in Series IV
(#309-352).

SERIES I, PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PAPERS, 1797-1963 (#1-178), includes day books,
which give some indication of Mary Elisabeth Dreier's daily activities; however, except
for a short run in the 1950s, they exist for only random years, and she did not write
every day. Most of the poetry in #14-18 was occasional, written for various holidays
or addressed to relatives or friends; the poems in #17 are addressed to KFC, the initials
of a nickname of Raymond Robins. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's financial records are fairly
complete. They include information on taxes and investments, people Mary Elisabeth
Dreier helped support, and organizations to which she regularly contributed. The New
York Women's Trade Union League material contains very little from Mary Elisabeth
Dreier's early years or the years of her presidency with the League. There is almost
no information about the 1909 shirtwaist makers' strike which Mary Elisabeth Dreier
led and during which she was arrested. There are several personal accounts of work
and living conditions by women who worked in the garment industry (see #45). The correspondence
with executive secretary Elisabeth Christman provides a good picture of the League's
last 15 years, when it was beset with the financial problems that finally forced it
to dissolve. The professional materials (#71-76) also contain little information about
Mary Elisabeth Dreier's most active years. The correspondence between Frances Kellor
and Mary Elisabeth Dreier spans the length of their fifty-year relationship. The letters
document the close and affectionate nature of their friendship; there is some discussion
of their work, especially in the early years. The major portion of this series consists
of correspondence, arranged alphabetically. Mary Elisabeth Dreier often established
personal friendships with people she worked with, and so there has been no attempt
to distinguish personal and professional correspondence. Most of the letters are to
Mary Elisabeth Dreier; the occasional letter from Mary Elisabeth Dreier is interfiled
with the appropriate correspondent. Major correspondents have their own folders; these
are followed by general alphabetical folders.

SERIES II, DREIER FAMILY PAPERS, 1813-1963 (#179-283), contains papers of various
members of the family, mainly their correspondence with Mary Elisabeth Dreier and
with others. Many of the early Dreier letters (pre-1900) are in German, as is Mary
Elisabeth Dreier's correspondence with German relatives. Most of the letters in this
series are to Mary Elisabeth Dreier from her family; letters from Mary Elisabeth Dreier
are interfiled with those from the appropriate correspondent. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's
correspondence with Margaret Dreier Robins reveals a close and loving relationship
between the two sisters. There is little discussion of the New York Women's Trade
Union League or of other professional interests; most of the letters deal with family
matters and mutual friends. Later letters illustrate Margaret Dreier Robins's increasing
dependence on Mary Elisabeth Dreier as the health of Margaret Dreier Robins and Raymond
Robins began to fail. Mary Elisabeth Dreier also maintained a long and deeply affectionate
correspondence with her brother-in-law Raymond Robins. They created the "Order of
the Flaming Cross"; she calls him "Knight of the Flaming Cross" (KFC) and he calls
her "Lady of the Flaming Cross" (LFC). The Raymond Robins papers contain numerous
clippings about his disappearance in the 1930s (at first attributed to kidnaping,
but in fact due to amnesia). There is also a folder of correspondence between Mary
Elisabeth Dreier and Raymond Robins's sister, Elisabeth Robins, an actress and writer
who for many years made her home in England. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's correspondence
with Lisa von Borowsky deals mainly with the activities of the Robinses, their health
problems after Raymond Robins was paralyzed in an accident in the 1930s, and the care
of the estate after Raymond Robins died. Correspondence with both Raymond Robins and
Lisa von Borowsky also refers to the establishment of Chinsegut Hill as a nature reserve.

Some of the letters between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and Henry Edward Dreier or Theodore
Dreier and Mary Elisabeth Dreier discuss Mary Elisabeth Dreier's and other family
financial matters, including the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds and their increase
and decline in value over time. Discussion of national and world politics, particularly
regarding United States president politics and World War II, is scattered throughout
correspondence with her brother Henry Edward Dreier and his wife, her sister Margaret
Dreier Robins and her husband, and her sister Katherine Sophie Dreier, but most of
the correspondence is devoted to an exchange of family news. (See also correspondence
with nephew Peter Voorhees (#32 and 33) and Series IV for additional correspondence
with Katherine Sophie Dreier.) Other correspondence with Katherine Sophie Dreier (mostly
incoming) documents her sister's work with the art organization Société Anonyme (of
which her sister was a founder) and her friendships with various artists, including
Marcel Duchamp. Correspondence with nephew Theodore Dreier and his wife document his
time as a student at Harvard University and the founding of the experimental school
Black Mountain College (to which Mary Elisabeth Dreier provided financial support),
founded by Theodore Dreier, John Andrew Rice, Frederick Georgia, and Ralph Lounsbury
in 1933 after their departure from Rollins College. Mary Elisabeth Dreier faithfully
corresponded with her siblings and in-laws and their children and grandchildren until
she died, and the letters reveal the interest of a loving sister and doting aunt.
The long run of correspondence between Katherine Sophie Dreier and Mary Elisabeth
Dreier again illustrate the concern and affection Mary Elisabeth Dreier felt for her
family. Katherine Sophie Dreier was especially close to Mary Elisabeth Dreier; her
letters report fully on her work and political attitudes (with particular focus on
United States politics and pre- and post-World War II politics in Europe), with occasional
references to family tensions. Other topics discussed in Katherine Sophie Dreier's
letters include her friendships with various artists, including Marcel Duchamp, and
her work with the Société Anonyme, founded by Katherine Sophie Dreier and others.
Many of the letters discuss spiritualism and Katherine Sophie Dreier's efforts to
examine its effects on her day-to-day life.

SERIES III, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1854-1968, n.d. (#284-304), includes photographs of Mary
Elisabeth Dreier, her family, and her friends. Very few of the pictures are dated,
and some are not identified. Of particular interest is the photograph of Mary Elisabeth
Dreier's grandfather Heinrich Eduard Dreier (#301) and of Mary Elisabeth Dreier's
parents with two of their children and several other relatives in the same folder.
The arrangement of this series parallels that of Series I and II. Most of the photographs
in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information
Access database.

SERIES IV, ADDENDA, ca.1880-1965 (#309-352), includes address books, biographical
material, correspondence, photographs, guest books, writings, etc. Biographical material
consists of a small number of clippings and related material regarding Mary Elisabeth
Dreier, a short biography of Leonora O'Reilly, suffragist and trade union reformer
and a friend of Dreier, and a biography of her sister Margaret Dreier Robbins. Most
of the correspondence is personal in nature, and most is with her sister, artist Katherine
Sophie Dreier, and her nephew Theodore Dreier. Correspondence with Katherine Sophie
Dreier is mostly outgoing but does document her sister's work with the art organization
Société Anonyme (of which her sister was a founder), her friendships with various
artists, including Marcel Duchamp, as well as Mary Dreier's work with the Women's
Trade Union League and for women's suffrage (see Series II, Subseries D, for additional
correspondence). Correspondence with her nephew Theodore Dreier relates to family
news, his time as a student at Harvard University, and his work at the experimental
Black Mountain College in North Carolina, to which his aunt was a frequent donor and
of which he was a founder. Other correspondence is between Theodore Dreier and a number
of friends and organizations to whom Mary Elisabeth Dreier had left bequests in her
will. Over the two years following her death in 1963, Theodore Dreier contacted beneficiaries
(family members, friends, and organizations) of her will to distribute funds as requested.
Also included in this series are two guest books from her summer home, Valour House,
at Fernald Point in Maine, filled with messages from and photographs of the many friends
and family members that she entertained there over the years, including Eleanor and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Very little material in this series documents Dreier's
professional life with the exception of several photographs of a suffrage parade,
members of the Women's Trade Union League, and conditions in the factory at the Recording
and Computing Machines Company, and an interview transcript regarding her time with
the New York State Factory Investigating Commission (1911-1915). Other photographs
are of Mary Elisabeth Dreier at various stages of her life, with friends and family,
and of her German ancestors. Original folder titles were retained. This series is
arranged alphabetically. It represents accession number 2007-M43 and was added to
the collection in August 2016.

Scope and Contents: SERIES I, PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PAPERS, 1797-1963 (#1-178), includes day books,
which give some indication of Mary Elisabeth Dreier's daily activities; however, except
for a short run in the 1950s, they exist for only random years, and she did not write
every day. Most of the poetry in #14-18 was occasional, written for various holidays
or addressed to relatives or friends; the poems in #17 are addressed to KFC, the initials
of a nickname of Raymond Robins. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's financial records are fairly
complete. They include information on taxes and investments, people Mary Elisabeth
Dreier helped support, and organizations to which she regularly contributed. The New
York Women's Trade Union League material contains very little from Mary Elisabeth
Dreier's early years or the years of her presidency with the League. There is almost
no information about the 1909 shirtwaist makers' strike which Mary Elisabeth Dreier
led and during which she was arrested. There are several personal accounts of work
and living conditions by women who worked in the garment industry (see #45). The correspondence
with executive secretary Elisabeth Christman provides a good picture of the League's
last 15 years, when it was beset with the financial problems that finally forced it
to dissolve. The professional materials (#71-76) also contain little information about
Mary Elisabeth Dreier's most active years. The correspondence between Frances Kellor
and Mary Elisabeth Dreier spans the length of their fifty-year relationship. The letters
document the close and affectionate nature of their friendship; there is some discussion
of their work, especially in the early years. The major portion of this series consists
of correspondence, arranged alphabetically. Mary Elisabeth Dreier often established
personal friendships with people she worked with, and so there has been no attempt
to distinguish personal and professional correspondence. Most of the letters are to
Mary Elisabeth Dreier; the occasional letter from Mary Elisabeth Dreier is interfiled
with the appropriate correspondent. Major correspondents have their own folders; these
are followed by general alphabetical folders.

Scope and Contents: SERIES II, DREIER FAMILY PAPERS, 1813-1963 (#179-283), contains papers of various
members of the family, mainly their correspondence with Mary Elisabeth Dreier and
with others. Many of the early Dreier letters (pre-1900) are in German, as is Mary
Elisabeth Dreier's correspondence with German relatives. Most of the letters in this
series are to Mary Elisabeth Dreier from her family; letters from Mary Elisabeth Dreier
are interfiled with those from the appropriate correspondent. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's
correspondence with Margaret Dreier Robins reveals a close and loving relationship
between the two sisters. There is little discussion of the New York Women's Trade
Union League or of other professional interests; most of the letters deal with family
matters and mutual friends. Later letters illustrate Margaret Dreier Robins's increasing
dependence on Mary Elisabeth Dreier as the health of Margaret Dreier Robins and Raymond
Robins began to fail. Mary Elisabeth Dreier also maintained a long and deeply affectionate
correspondence with her brother-in-law Raymond Robins. They created the "Order of
the Flaming Cross"; she calls him "Knight of the Flaming Cross" (KFC) and he calls
her "Lady of the Flaming Cross" (LFC). The Raymond Robins papers contain numerous
clippings about his disappearance in the 1930s (at first attributed to kidnaping,
but in fact due to amnesia). There is also a folder of correspondence between Mary
Elisabeth Dreier and Raymond Robins's sister, Elisabeth Robins, an actress and writer
who for many years made her home in England. Mary Elisabeth Dreier's correspondence
with Lisa von Borowsky deals mainly with the activities of the Robinses, their health
problems after Raymond Robins was paralyzed in an accident in the 1930s, and the care
of the estate after Raymond Robins died. Correspondence with both Raymond Robins and
Lisa von Borowsky also refers to the establishment of Chinsegut Hill as a nature reserve.
Some of the letters between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and Henry Edward Dreier or Theodore
Dreier and Mary Elisabeth Dreier discuss Mary Elisabeth Dreier's and other family
financial matters, including the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds and their increase
and decline in value over time. Discussion of national and world politics, particularly
regarding United States president politics and World War II, is scattered throughout
correspondence with her brother Henry Edward Dreier and his wife, her sister Margaret
Dreier Robins and her husband, and her sister Katherine Sophie Dreier, but most of
the correspondence is devoted to an exchange of family news. (See also correspondence
with nephew Peter Voorhees (#32 and 33) and Series IV for additional correspondence
with Katherine Sophie Dreier.) Other correspondence with Katherine Sophie Dreier (mostly
incoming) documents her sister's work with the art organization Société Anonyme (of
which her sister was a founder) and her friendships with various artists, including
Marcel Duchamp. Correspondence with nephew Theodore Dreier and his wife document his
time as a student at Harvard University and the founding of the experimental school
Black Mountain College (to which Mary Elisabeth Dreier provided financial support),
founded by Theodore Dreier, John Andrew Rice, Frederick Georgia, and Ralph Lounsbury
in 1933 after their departure from Rollins College. Mary Elisabeth Dreier faithfully
corresponded with her siblings and in-laws and their children and grandchildren until
she died, and the letters reveal the interest of a loving sister and doting aunt.
The long run of correspondence between Katherine Sophie Dreier and Mary Elisabeth
Dreier again illustrate the concern and affection Mary Elisabeth Dreier felt for her
family. Katherine Sophie Dreier was especially close to Mary Elisabeth Dreier; her
letters report fully on her work and political attitudes (with particular focus on
United States politics and pre- and post-World War II politics in Europe), with occasional
references to family tensions. Other topics discussed in Katherine Sophie Dreier's
letters include her friendships with various artists, including Marcel Duchamp, and
her work with the Société Anonyme, founded by Katherine Sophie Dreier and others.
Many of the letters discuss spiritualism and Katherine Sophie Dreier's efforts to
examine its effects on her day-to-day life.

278. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and other family in the United States,
1911-1963

279. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and relatives in Germany; and earlier
family correspondence, 1837-1946 (scattered)

280. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and relatives in Germany; and earlier
family correspondence, 1947-1952

281. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and relatives in Germany; and earlier
family correspondence, 1953-1958

282. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and relatives in Germany; and earlier
family correspondence, 1959-1963

283. Correspondence between Mary Elisabeth Dreier and relatives in Germany; and earlier
family correspondence, n.d.

SERIES III. PHOTOGRAPHS AND OVERSIZED, ca.1854-1968, n.d. (#284-304)

Scope and Contents: SERIES III, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1854-1968, n.d. (#284-304), includes photographs of Mary
Elisabeth Dreier, her family, and her friends. Very few of the pictures are dated,
and some are not identified. Of particular interest is the photograph of Mary Elisabeth
Dreier's grandfather Heinrich Eduard Dreier (#301) and of Mary Elisabeth Dreier's
parents with two of their children and several other relatives in the same folder.
The arrangement of this series parallels that of Series I and II.

Scope and Contents: SERIES IV, ADDENDA, ca.1880-1965 (#309-352), includes address books, biographical
material, correspondence, photographs, guest books, writings, etc. Biographical material
consists of a small number of clippings and related material regarding Mary Elisabeth
Dreier, a short biography of Leonora O'Reilly, suffragist and trade union reformer
and a friend of Dreier, and a biography of her sister Margaret Dreier Robbins. Most
of the correspondence is personal in nature, and most is with her sister, artist Katherine
Sophie Dreier, and her nephew Theodore Dreier. Correspondence with Katherine Sophie
Dreier is mostly outgoing but does document her sister's work with the art organization
Société Anonyme (of which her sister was a founder), her friendships with various
artists, including Marcel Duchamp, as well as Mary Dreier's work with the Women's
Trade Union League and for women's suffrage (see Series II, Subseries D, for additional
correspondence). Correspondence with her nephew Theodore Dreier relates to family
news, his time as a student at Harvard University, and his work at the experimental
Black Mountain College in North Carolina, to which his aunt was a frequent donor and
of which he was a founder. Other correspondence is between Theodore Dreier and a number
of friends and organizations to whom Mary Elisabeth Dreier had left bequests in her
will. Over the two years following her death in 1963, Theodore Dreier contacted beneficiaries
(family members, friends, and organizations) of her will to distribute funds as requested.
Also included in this series are two guest books from her summer home, Valour House,
at Fernald Point in Maine, filled with messages from and photographs of the many friends
and family members that she entertained there over the years, including Eleanor and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Very little material in this series documents Dreier's
professional life with the exception of several photographs of a suffrage parade,
members of the Women's Trade Union League, and conditions in the factory at the Recording
and Computing Machines Company, and an interview transcript regarding her time with
the New York State Factory Investigating Commission (1911-1915). Other photographs
are of Mary Elisabeth Dreier at various stages of her life, with friends and family,
and of her German ancestors. Original folder titles were retained. This series is
arranged alphabetically. It represents accession number 2007-M43 and was added to
the collection in August 2016.